Gimme Your Stuff

... I've caved and have signed up for Gimme Your Stuff. I've resisted for some time (found the blog a few months back), but it seems like such a cool idea that it was only a matter of time until I gave in. Could be fun, right?

What I can swap:
* yarn
* fabric
* anything crafts related as long as I can get it here
* something handmade by me
* sweets, etc
* anything typically British that you always wanted to get your hands on
* Postcards
* Recipes
* Magazines
* clothes and accessories
* vintage stuff (I love car-boot sales ;-) )
* virtually anything you are looking for, as long as it isn't too heavy

What I am looking for:
* all of the above really, with the exception of sweets (although I like the occasional chocolate bar I'm not much for candy...)
* crafts books and magazines from any country
* fabric
* Japanese crafts books and mags
* Yarn or fibre that is typical for your country
* anything handsewn
* Clothing that I might like (T-shirts, skirts, etc)
* handbags (handmade or bought)
* anything vintage or funky or quirky that you think I might like

There, it's done. I'm clearly doomed to never get any work done...

What does a girl do...

... when she doesn't like knitting socks because knitting on small needles takes far too long for her liking?

She starts knitting a baby cardigan on toothpicks of course!

I'm so hopeless. Honestly, much as I adore sock-weight yarn and much as I adore handknit socks, I am rubbish at finishing sock-related knitting projects. Knitting a pair of socks takes me on average 2 years. So what am I doing, trying to knit a baby cardigan in 4-ply yarn? For a deadline that could be any day now (my best friend is due TODAY but fortunately her little girl is not in a hurry to leave her cozy little nest and face the grey and rainly April weather)?

Obviously I fell in love with this project BEFORE I checked on the required yarn and needle size and when I did it was already too late, in particular as I'd been waiting for quite a while for a suitable girl baby to knit this particular item for. And now I'm stuck, evening after evening, after settling the bean down for the night (he thinks knitting needles are utterly fascinating, so no knitting with him around!!), squinting at my minuscule progress on said cardigan. Even D commented a few days ago - 'god, you've been knitting this for ages. It's tiny!!' Grrrr!

I do like the result, though. I think once it's done (should be around the time the little girl leaves home to go to university...) it will be very cute.

Happiness is...

... a Sunday afternoon in the garden while the sun is out.


... admiring the fragile flowers on the fruit trees.


... working on the vegetable patch and spotting the first few shoots coming up (these are my mangetout pea seedlings)


... just sitting back with a cold beer and watching the cat (who thinks the new vegetable garden is a fabulous huge cat latrine -blegh!)


... the first BBQ of the season (although it was rather tricky to light sodden charcoal, but the grilled chicken was divine!)

It's good to do nothing in particular sometimes.

~ * ~

My blog seems to be on some kind of hiatus. Not that I want it to be, but somehow I am managing to start most days with thinking "today I am going to update the blog" only to realise when I go to bed that once again I've forgotten to do just that. I have a new resolution, though - from now on, I will update the blog at least once a week and I will only skip the update if I am away. We'll see how I go with that.

Things are good here, the bean is starting to enjoy some solid food, we have finally made a start on painting the walls in his room, and the recently lovely and warm weather has meant that I have also started my very own vegetable patch! And there has even been some crafting and knitting. We are content. Life is good. I think it was this that gave me the idea of starting this little series of posts about what makes me happy.